HUDSON COUNTY -- Robin Hood’s Hurricane Sandy Relief Committee met on Jan. 18 and Jan. 23 to review and approve the latest round of relief grants. They awarded 71 organization grants totaling more than $9.5 million, bringing the total granted by Robin Hood thus far to $29.8 million to more than 220 organizations in the tri-state area. This represents 44 percent of the Robin Hood Sandy Relief Fund.

The majority of grants were for housing-related programs designed to help individuals and families get back into their homes or to help them move into transitional housing. This funding includes grants to several long-term recovery groups in New Jersey and Long Island.

“Our aim is to get 95 percent of the money from the Robin Hood Relief Fund granted no later than March 31,” said David Saltzman, executive director of Robin Hood. “We will continue to do our best to get the money out the door as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation, a community action partnership which offers programs for low income adults and families including Head Start, food pantries, rental assistance, Meals on Wheels, and other vital offerings, will receive $100,000. Since Hurricane Sandy, the need for their services has skyrocketed. This grant would go towards providing rental assistance and home repairs for their clients.

Hoboken Department of Health and Human Services will get $210,000. The Hoboken Multi-Service Center housed a number of community health programs that served low- to moderate-income families, and the building has been closed due to damage from the storm. Funds from this grant will allow them to repair and refurnish classrooms and office space for Hoboken Day Care 100, which provides high quality day-care to 100 children, and to restore Hoboken Family Planning, which served 45 women per week, and which served as the sole source of medical care for the majority of those women.

Hudson Milestones, which is based in Bayonne and Jersey City and operates a wide variety of programs to assist developmentally disabled individuals of all ages, will get $75,000. Hudson Milestones lost twelve of their transport vehicles in the storm, including four specially equipped school buses and eight specially equipped 12-passenger vans. This funding will help defray the replacement costs (not covered by insurance) for some of these vehicles.

Founded in 1988, Robin Hood is New York’s largest poverty-fighting organization, and has focused on finding, funding and creating programs and schools that generate meaningful results for families in New York’s poorest neighborhoods. The Robin Hood Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund has granted tens of millions of dollars to organizations throughout New York’s tri-state region that help individuals and families recover from the devastating effects of the storm. In addition, Robin Hood’s board of directors pays all administrative, fundraising and evaluation costs, so 100 percent of donations go directly to organizations helping victims of Hurricane Sandy rebuild their lives. – Al Sullivan